Joe Thomas Comments on Browns' Offense and Offseason Strategy

The Cleveland Browns are suffering on the field for some decisions they made in the offseason, and the players know it.

After falling to 0-11 with a 24-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas discussed the problem with the struggling offensive line.

"Well, we lost a couple really good players, I think the best at their position," he said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "But that was our strategy in the offseason. That's what we decided to do. You've got to lie in the bed that you've made, and I don't make the decisions on who comes and goes. So that's not something that I can concern myself with."

The players he was referring to are center Alex Mack, who signed a five-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who joined the Kansas City Chiefs.

After also losing guard Joel Bitonio to a season-ending foot injury, the Browns offensive line has turned into a major weakness. Quarterbacks Josh McCown and Cody Kessler were sacked a combined eight times in Sunday's loss to the Steelers. Cleveland has allowed 38 sacks on the year, passing the Indianapolis Colts for the most in the NFL.

Running backs also struggled to find any room Sunday, as the team averaged just 2.5 yards per carry.

Receiver Terrelle Pryor also voiced his displeasure with the offensive line's performance after the game, via Cleveland.com:

Thomas, John Greco and Austin Pasztor have started every game this year, while second-year center Cameron Erving has been a starter when healthy. Alvin Bailey has filled in for Bitonio.

While inexperience has been an issue, Thomas believes fixing the problems shouldn't be hard.

"There's not any rocket science to it," he said, per Cabot. "It's trying to get the best hat on the best hat, winning the one-on-one matchup and trying to make sure that we're all on the same page with who's blocking who and where the quarterback's going to be."

Whoever lines up at quarterback for the Browns will certainly hope the blocking improves as soon as possible.